Sunday, May 15, 2011

There’s no denying it now, Josh IS the smart twin, and – you know what? – I couldn’t be prouder.

My brother is a doctor!

My brother is a doctor!

MY BROTHER IS A DOCTOR!!!!!

WOO HOO!!!!! 🙂

Yesterday was a crazy day full of celebrations and family. 🙂

Josh and his girlfriend, Adena, made reservations for our GIANT group of 36+ people at Big Pink In South Beach for an early lunch yesterday.

The 36+ was a combination of our family, Adena’s family, their friends, and their friend’s family. Basically, it was a madhouse.

Somehow, they managed to squeeze us all on one long table. I have to say, I was impressed it all worked.

I had never even heard of Big Pink before we pulled up, but the minute I walked in, it was love. I loved the atmosphere, I loved the menu, and I loved the customer service (even with our large party we were in and out in an hour!).

Big Pink reminded me of a place that could be featured on Diners, Dive-ins, and Drives ( I haven’t checked, maybe it has been?). Everything about it rocked!

Derek loved that they had big tvs with baseball playing on them.

There we go.

Great restaurant pick Josh and Adena!

Big Pink’s menu was HUGE. It had a lot of greasy diner staples, as well as some fun twists on traditional classics. I was told upon opening the menu that I NEEDED to request the sweet potato fries as a side item (not much convincing needed there 😉 ) and that everything was pretty incredible, so there was no way I could go wrong.

I’m not sure why, but I was really craving a burger. Usually I stay away from veggie burgers at restaurants (I’ve been disappointed one too many times before), but the description of ‘tofu blended with lentils, bulgar, and fresh vegetable’ made me think Big Pink’s Veggie Burger was different.

I went for it.

Wow. Wow. and Wow.

Seriously, the BEST Veggie Burger I’ve had in my life. Can you see those chunks of veggies? It was fresh, homemade, and had me ‘mmmmming’ after each and every bite.

The burger was big, really big, and normally I would have stopped at half, but it was so good, I found myself nearly polishing off the whole thing.

If you go to Big Pink I can not recommend the veggie burger enough. Everyone else’s food looked incredible too, but I swear they just didn’t compare to mine. 🙂

The sweet potatoes weren’t bad either. 😉 They were crispy on the outside and slightly mushy on the inside – fry pefection in my opinion. Of course, my energy was geared towards the burger, so I only consumed about 1/4 of them. 🙂

After stuffing ourselves silly, we waddled down the street to enjoy a cocktail or two at the cutest little boutique hotel on the beach.

The atmosphere screamed Mimosa to me. 🙂

Derek and I took our drinks outside.

All that was missing was a bikini and a good book. 🙂

We killed time doing a little window shopping and exploring before heading to the University of Miami Campus for the main event.

Look! It’s Josh!

The best part of the commencement book was checking out everyone’s credentials and seeing where they’re all heading next year (they’ll literally be all over the country).

Some had a little more bulk that others. 😉

Adena is a Rock Star. Obviously. 😉

Let the commencement begin!

That’s my brother!

Hi Josh! Hi Josh!

And here come’s my brother’s Rock Star girlfriend.

I think Adena spotted us!

The entire commencement ceremony was very emotional for me.

It was always a given Josh was going to be a doctor. He was smart, he was quiet, and he was going places. No one questioned it when he studied bio-chemistry at UF or took the MCAT his senior year. When Josh applied for medical schools senior year – and was denied a couple of places before being wait listed at UM – there were no tears; only confidence that he would get in somewhere and succeed.

And he did.

Josh busted his butt in Miami. He studied for – not hours – but DAYS at a time. He worked on cadavers, he pushed himself through every rotation, he sat out of vacations, he volunteered, he passed his boards, he learned how to save lives, he grew up, and now – he’s proof that hard work and perseverance pay off.

All you need is a goal and the drive to get there.

It was always assumed Josh would be a doctor…

But, he was the one that made it happen.

Congrats Josh! 🙂

I’m equally proud of Adena.

Adena picked a field so highly competitive that the residency she will be entering into this summer is a program of only one person <-her!

Congrats to all of the Class of 2011!!

You’re all doctors now! Time to celebrate!

The Miller School of Medicine set up a reception next door for all the new doctors to celebrate together with their families.

The food spread was pretty amazing. They had a few tables set up with a little something of everything.

Plate #1 from the veggie and cheese table.

Plate #2 from the Asian Table.

Plate #3 from the dessert table (I just had a bite of each)

Plate #4 Cake!

After the reception we headed to South Beach for some ice cream.

I shared some Mint Chocolate Chip with Derek.

Then we went to a German restaurant for beers and pretzels.

I was DD, so I abstained from the beer, but I did have some of the amazing pretzel! Yum!

We ended the night at a karaoke bar on South Beach.

It was just Josh, Ben, Kelly, Derek, and me at this point, but it was probably the most fun I’ve had in a long time (even as DD). My siblings are my best friends, there’s no questioning that, and any minute I spend with them is a minute worth savoring. Last night felt like a last hoorah before we’re all separated again. They drank, we danced, we sang, and we just had FUN.

Heck, the guys even got on stage for a round of ‘The Devil Went Down to Georgia’ and ‘ Great Balls of Fire’

And, even though Kelly was resisting, I managed to pull her up for ‘Any Man of Mine’ (which we ROCKED).

Don’t ask me how the only sober one went up stage for a solo, but I did a pretty mean round of ‘Total Eclipse of My Heart’ 😉

We managed to stay out until 3:00am at that Karaoke Bar. I can’t tell you the last time I stayed out that late – it just proves how much fun we were having.